Wallow Fire set to become the largest fire in Arizona history

Blaze keeps growing, will likely surpass '02 Rodeo-Chediski Fire

SPRINGERVILLE - Firefighters say they are winning the battle to save homes from the epic Wallow Fire, but the wildfire continued to claw its way east toward the New Mexico town of Luna on Monday and could become the largest in Arizona history as soon as today.

As of 9 p.m. Monday, the Wallow had scorched 452,000 to 463,000 acres. Its exact size was unclear at nightfall. The 2002 Rodeo-Chediski Fire, the state's largest, charred roughly 468,000 acres.

"For all intents and purposes, they will be the same size," Chris Knopp, a supervisor with the U.S. Forest Service, said at a Monday evening community briefing in Eagar.

But firefighters noted a key difference: Far fewer houses have been lost to the Wallow, thanks to certain preventive measures. A campaign to thin forests near White Mountain communities since the Rodeo-Chediski helped limit damage, allowing firefighters to save more homes despite the grim blackening of more acreage.

"It not about the acres, it's about what people have done to save their homes," said Joe Reinarz, incident commander for the Southwest Area Incident Management Team.

Officials said 31 homes have been lost so far to the Wallow Fire. Rodeo-Chediski consumed 465 homes.

Fire officials said Monday that all Arizona communities appeared to be safe for the moment, though a threat remained for the towns of Greer, Alpine and Nutrioso, and Luna, N.M., just across the Arizona line.

Fire crews from the Pacific Northwest were working to save Luna, which faces the active eastern side of the Wallow Fire, which has burned the most acreage in the last few days.

Sean Johnson, spokesman for the team responsible for the eastern flank, said the lower half of the fire is most dangerous on that side, but the northeast section was not threatening.

The eastern side's rough, steep terrain laced with canyons made it difficult and dangerous for firefighters to attack flames directly.

"Our number one concern . . . is that the firefighter is protected," Johnson said.

Federal fire investigators on Sunday went to what they believed to be the Wallow Fire's point of ignition in search of evidence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Schneider said Monday.

"I can't talk about what they may or may not have found; they are continuing to put that together," Schneider said.

He said no arrests have been made.

A 'sigh of relief'

"My understanding is there are a number of people who were in the vicinity or area where the fire is believed to have started and investigators are trying to identify those individuals and want to interview them," he said.

Residents returning to Springerville and Eagar over the weekend and Monday were breathing a sigh of relief.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would ever grow into something this gigantic," said Mike Hill, 57, of Eagar, whose home escaped damage despite being within a quarter mile of the flames. "It just kept coming."

Hill's home benefited from last year's forest clearing.

"I was kind of against it at the time," Hill said, ruing the loss of his trees. "But that seems to have helped a lot."

Firefighters also showed off their progress in the picturesque mountain hamlet of Greer, where the inferno hugged nearby ridges and hillsides but was halted by the combination of a favorable winds and hard, persistent work by crews who hand-dug a firebreak and dropped water from a helicopter.

Still, 21 buildings were lost there - 18 residences and three cabins owned by a Presbyterian Church camp, Greer Fire Chief Mark Wade said. The summer home of retiring U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., was among those that remained undamaged.

"There is still a lot of green in Greer. Greer is not as bad as people thought it was," Wade said.

On a ridge line south-southeast of town, he said, "This was a true firestorm . . . it was very intense."

Not everyone shared good news, however.

Mark Schnepf, a Queen Creek farmer whose family has owned a cabin in Greer for 70 years, said he has known since viewing aerial news footage last week that his cabin had burned to the ground.

"It's not a human life, but because it has been in the family for so long, it's like a family member," he said.

Schnepf's grandfather, Jack, traded an old truck to the family of late Arizona Gov. Ernest McFarland for the cabin, which had a unique footprint because it featured two buildings separated by a flagstone patio. It sat at the south end of the Greer Valley, where the fire entered the area.

Wade said those who lost homes are being notified, usually through short telephone calls. Wade plans to meet with each whenever they are allowed back into Greer, to explain what happened and the measures taken by firefighters to save structures.

Schnepf said he would welcome such a meeting and expects it to give him some peace of mind. As of Monday afternoon, he had not been notified officially by fire officials of the cabin's loss. But it was not really necessary after what he saw last week.

"I was really feeling distraught Wednesday night when I thought all of Greer was lost," he said. "I just broke down and shed some tears."

Schnepf said he was thrilled that the Molly Butler Lodge and most of the rest of Greer was saved.

"It's such a blessing to the rest of us that the rest of Greer was saved," he said.

Officials said the situation in Greer remained precarious. "I don't think we're out of the woods, by any means," Wade said Monday.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: When did the fire begin and how?Answer: Fire officials believe an unattended campfire may have sparked the blaze about 1:30 p.m. May 29.

Q: Where does the name "Wallow Fire" come from?A: Fires are usually named after a feature near the start point. In this case, Bear Wallow Wilderness is located in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, near where the fire was first reported.

Q: How many structures have been lost?A: Forest Service officials say 68 structures (29 residences, 35 outbuildings and four commercial buildings) and one truck have been lost to the fire, six structures have been damaged and more than 4,400 are threatened.

Q: How many acres has the Wallow Fire burned?A: More than 469,000 acres as of Tuesday morning.

Q: How large is Wallow Fire compared to other fires across the country?A: The Wallow Fire is the largest active fire in the country, followed by the Honey Prairie Complex Fire in Georgia, which was sparked by lightning and has charred 177,632 acres. In addition, southern Arizona's Horseshoe Two Fire is the nation's third-largest at more than 148,505 acres.

Q: Historically, what are Arizona's largest wildfires?A: The Wallow Fire is now the largest, with more than 469,000 acres charred. The second-largest fire in state history was the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, which charred more than 468,000 acres in eastern Arizona. The third-largest was the Cave Creek Complex Fire, which consumed more than 248,000 acres in 2005, followed by the still-burning Horseshoe Two Fire, which stands at 157,254 acres, and the 2004 Willow Fire at 119,000 acres.

Q: What is a Type 1 Incident Management Team?A: A Type 1 team consists of highly trained and experienced wildfire personnel, from federal and state levels, specifically outfitted for wildland fires.

Q: What type of equipment is being used?A: As of Monday, more than 4,300 fire personnel were on the ground, utilizing 27 bulldozers, 334 fire engines, 66 water tenders and 15 helicopters.

Q: What types of helicopters are being used?A: There are three types of helicopters. The Type 1 is the heavy-lift helicopter sometimes called a sky crane. It has the ability to dump up to 2,000 gallons of water. Medium-sized helicopters can dump about 500 gallons. Light helicopters are used to move supplies and keep an eye on the fire.

Q: What magnitude is the current evacuation?A: Fire officials said the following communities have been evacuated: Sunrise, Blue River, Greer, Alpine, Nutrioso, Hannagan Meadow Lodge, Sprucedale Guest Ranch, Brentwood Church Camp, Hannagan campground, KP campground, West Fork Black River campground, East Fork Black River campground, Escudilla Mountain Estates, Bonita, White Mtn. Acres, Dog Patch and the H-V Ranch. There are pre-evacuation notices for Greens Peak, Hidden Meadow and surrounding areas. Springerville, Eagar and South Fork are no longer under evacuation.

Q: What are the current road closures?A: Wildfires have forced the Arizona Department of Transportation to close more than 200 miles of state highways. Thursday morning, ADOT announced that a 17-mile stretch of U.S. 60, between Springerville and the New Mexico state line, was the latest closure.